Ableton Forum

Sold my TI Polar a few months ago and don't miss it at all. As a matter of fact I am faster at making music because I don't have to deal with the "total integration"!

- things I've learned this year, as I do every year it seems... Less is more!

^ Ditto.

Dumped my Virus B and Microwave XT awhile back.

I never use the TI aspects anyway, it was a standalone hardware synth as far as I was concerned.

this mirrors earlier tips but it's the most important one by far for me:

--- Create a regular, scheduled, disciplined approach for FINISHING a given track. Any track, really: the point is to choose one unfinished track, say "IMA GONNA FINISH THIS ONE BEFORE I TOUCH ANY OTHER DAMN THING" and then, of course: follow through.

Like many I'm sure, my biggest problem is leaving dozens upon dozens of 45 to 85% finished tracks behind me, then suddenly realizing it's been months since I completed a single new, finished song.

-M

Klauser wrote:

Also, someone mentioned that you shouldnt place monitors on top of books. Why? I spent the whole summer doing this because I got a new computer desk that holds the monitors to low below my ears. Just wondering how I am damaging my production environment?

Bass was always very boomy in my room and was therefore muddying things up and making mixing difficult. I could never produce mixes that were consistent on other systems and always had to go back remix and render to compensate. I was blaming this on my room acoustics until a friend pointed out that my monitors (that are without feet) were on books and were essentially turning my desk into a bass box (vibrations).
I now have floor standing monitors and the frequencies are so much clearer which has helped mixing and production enjoyment.
Though I see the Genelecs have rubber pods underneath.

eggnchips wrote:Though I see the Genelecs have rubber pods underneath.

"pro's" call this: "LRF Support"


(Little Rubber Feet)

Great Tips people.

1. Less is more.
2. Ctrl + Mouse = fine adjustment
3. Ctrl + Click = solo overwrite
4. Wavetable synthesis is better than distortion for grit and edge
5. Creating presets for quick access to sounds !!!
6. Layering samples is good.

- It's great to get advice from other prodcuers, but we all work different at the end of the day, so don't fall into the trap if thinking any one way is "right" and that you're doing it wrong.

Tarekith wrote:- It's great to get advice from other prodcuers, but we all work different at the end of the day, so don't fall into the trap if thinking any one way is "right" and that you're doing it wrong.

Yea, you're right. Or are you? Rrrrr

I love this thread.

Deleting projects is the dumbest advice I have ever heard.
And especially the part where that guy says you should delete it if it doesnt mix well with other tracks in your "genre"
Those are the things you should cherish most, it means you dont sound like anyone else, and are onto something different

You killed the vibe.

The lesson is: Never try.

One shot dummy clips with no quantize are very good to put delay when changing scenes, to smooth transitions.

Hot swap mode is the bomb inside of drum racks. Build up a beat with random drum rack then enable hot swap mode on your kick for instance, navigate to your kick folder, arrow up and down and hit 'enter' to audition kicks while the beat is playing. Rinse and repeat with snare, etc. Pure magic.

Good stuff...

Music learnings:
- Freeze, flatten, resample, cutup. That synth line isn't that important that you need it to be midi. Resample it and fuck it up. It'll be cooler in the end.
- Even though you own UAD card / other VST effects, Live has great effects too (especially distortion)
- Don't always sync your delays. Use unsynched and make it sound more live. Automate that shit.
- Use more sends/returns, but automate the sends. Don't have it going to that reverb/delay all the time. It'll sound stale and muddy. Automate it for epic builds and fills.
- Save multiple versions, and feel more comfortable resampling and destroying your precious tracks, you can always go back if needed.
- Less gear = more focus on song (sold my mpc, jomox, machinedrum, and other gear this year)
- Put a compressor/limiter/eq on the master channel to see what it sounds like when it will be mastered. Turn them on and off and find the best sounding tune on both dry and wet master. Sometimes certain sounds stick out more on either version. Export it dry and let the master engineer do the actual mastering.
- Don't turn the headphones up even more. Turn them down a bit and get used to it, and then you can turn them back up to where it was before.


Life's learnings that help music making:
- Give your girlfriend at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted attention before a big studio session. Less interuptions will occur and life will be better
- Listen to other genres more. There are geniuses in every style of music.
- Do the dishes/vaccuum/laundry before you sit down to produce. Get the nagging stuff done and you can focus better on the project. I used to always put stuff off, and it would always be on my mind and cause interruptions and lack of focus.
- Get a dog. The walks help your mind and body, which helps your music. Plus dogs clean up your crumbs when eating, keeping a cleaner studio.
- Call grandma. She knows best.